Dear AIA COTE colleagues,
This summer’s catastrophic wildfires continue to ravage California, so it is appropriate that the Global Climate Action Summit will be hosted September 12-14 in San Francisco. AIA is engaged, will be at the table, and is a sponsor of two affiliated events: the Carbon Smart Building Day and the Climate Heritage Mobilization. We will be meeting with regional COTE leaders and several COTE members will be attending the summit, bringing a strategic purpose and actionable items to the event. We are engaged beyond issues that are occurring at the national level, issues that are globally substantive. While the actual summit is invite-only, we encourage members and regional leaders to attend the affiliated events. Check out our Advocacy page for information after the event.Despite strong public opposition, EPA is defending its proposed rule that could clear the way for more asbestos. Join hundreds of companies in the design and construction industry and tell EPA we don’t need more asbestos in our buildings. Tell the EPA to rescind its pro-asbestos plan!Also, support is growing at the highest levels to incorporate the recommendations of the “LEEDing on Climate Change” letter, which advocates that the USGBC incorporate carbon thresholds into LEED criteria, to ensure that LEED remains relevant and meaningful.Speaking of impact, we were lucky to sit down with Paul Hawken, the founder of Project Drawdown, a comprehensive research initiative to reverse global warming. Many solutions (detailed in Drawdown, the book) are ones that our profession can embrace, design with, and advocate for; the interview is on the Architect site.